Fountain Hills High credited with A grade after ACT gains; district details remediation and prep programs
April 18, 2024 | Fountain Hills Unified School, School Districts, Arizona
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At a board meeting Dr. Jay presented ACT and state testing results that helped Fountain Hills High School earn an A letter grade. He said the school's composite ACT increased from 18.1 to 19.03 and that growth across math, reading, English, science and STEM contributed to the higher rating.
Dr. Jay outlined the district's strategies: math and English support classes beginning in freshman year (trimester model with Algebra 1A/B), a mandatory ACT-prep class for juniors (four weeks each of math, English and science), and two in-year ACT administrations to allow students to superscore their best results. The district paid for the winter ACT administration so all juniors took it in February; a second administration in April was part of the state testing window.
He explained Arizona's letter-grade formula in plain terms: roughly 30% of a school's grade comes from proficiency on exams, 20% from growth compared with the prior cohort, additional points for graduation rate and bonus points for high testing participation. Dr. Jay said the district received bonus points (6.5 points) for high participation that helped push the overall score over the A threshold.
Dr. Jay also described and resolved a graduation-rate reporting error: a handful of students ("around 10 or 12" according to his remarks) were mislabeled in the state system as completers rather than graduates; the district appealed the report to the state and recovered the points that had been lost because of the error.
Board members asked whether the newly introduced ACT-prep classes and other interventions would lead to further improvement next year; Dr. Jay said the programs were expected to yield continued gains but acknowledged room for growth and that the sophomore/ninth-grade Aspire results will inform early interventions.
No formal board action was required on the presentation; members expressed appreciation for staff efforts and asked for ongoing reporting on outcomes.
Dr. Jay outlined the district's strategies: math and English support classes beginning in freshman year (trimester model with Algebra 1A/B), a mandatory ACT-prep class for juniors (four weeks each of math, English and science), and two in-year ACT administrations to allow students to superscore their best results. The district paid for the winter ACT administration so all juniors took it in February; a second administration in April was part of the state testing window.
He explained Arizona's letter-grade formula in plain terms: roughly 30% of a school's grade comes from proficiency on exams, 20% from growth compared with the prior cohort, additional points for graduation rate and bonus points for high testing participation. Dr. Jay said the district received bonus points (6.5 points) for high participation that helped push the overall score over the A threshold.
Dr. Jay also described and resolved a graduation-rate reporting error: a handful of students ("around 10 or 12" according to his remarks) were mislabeled in the state system as completers rather than graduates; the district appealed the report to the state and recovered the points that had been lost because of the error.
Board members asked whether the newly introduced ACT-prep classes and other interventions would lead to further improvement next year; Dr. Jay said the programs were expected to yield continued gains but acknowledged room for growth and that the sophomore/ninth-grade Aspire results will inform early interventions.
No formal board action was required on the presentation; members expressed appreciation for staff efforts and asked for ongoing reporting on outcomes.
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